


With Fang and Steel

by Wrathful_Spectre



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Characters Might Die, Different Titan Anatomy, F/F, F/M, Grisha has connections to Eren, M/M, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Related, Mostly companionship instead of Romance, Multi, Older Eren Yeager, Shifter Society, Shifters Are Supersoldiers, Shifters are Centuries old, Shifters are not human, Shingeki no Kyojin AU, Shingeki no Kyojin: Before the fall | Attack on Titan: Before the Fall References, Titans are creepy, Titans are dangerous, Titans are not Humans, Titans are smarter than normal, Titans who transform into Humans, Tribal Politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-19 11:24:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11312385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrathful_Spectre/pseuds/Wrathful_Spectre
Summary: When everything you know about the monsters in your nightmares is wrong what do you do? Thats a question Armin Arlert has to ask himself when he and his friend Mikasa are saved by a strange Titan wearing a boy's face. When they end up spiraling into a world like no other.But even then things are not what they seem: This boy knows the secrets of the Titans, him, along with other more powerful than could ever have been imagined.The Survey Corps also takes notice and scramble to grasp this new chance for humanity with both hands, but they aren't the only ones and they sure aren't the most willing to spill blood for it. The only real question everyone needs to ask themselves is this:Will they survive until tomorrow?





	1. The Aftermath of the breach

**Author's Note:**

> Alright then, here we go boys and girls. This is the first one of my attack on titan stories to ever see the light of day and the very first I've ever put on this site.
> 
> It's a little short for a prologue but if you're interested or wanting more make sure to let me know.
> 
> Also give me a Kudos if I dare ask. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Levi glared at the list in his hands. It was a look he gave to only the things that well and truly pissed him off, however necessary they were did not matter.

He sat behind his desk in his office, his tea having grown cold from hours of paperwork; damn this fucking part of the job. His room was dark, and the moon had already begun to climb into the sky.

What could be so bad about paper work one might ask? To that Levi would have probably stabbed them. If he was in a good mood however he might just beat them bloody and explain it to them. The fact was he was a high ranking member of the survey corps, the military branch tasked with venturing outside the walls and reclaiming lands from the titans…

That was what they told people at least.

The truth was that in all the years Levi had been in the corps they had never really won a battle. Sure they killed a lot of titans; him most of all, so many in fact that he had been given the moniker ‘Humanity's Strongest’. It was a cruel joke really, since no matter how many titans he killed there were always ten more to take the beasts place,

More recently that truth had come into the lime light: just over a month ago wall Maria had fallen. The third most outer wall protecting them from the monsters of the outside world hand been breached by titans. Two in particular; the infamous Armoured and Colossal titans.

Humanity had suffered a loss it hadn’t felt in over a century, and was pushed back to its second wall. With that the number of cadets joining the Survey Corps had skyrocketed, filled with eager young men and woman with a determination to ‘fight back against the titans’ and ‘ take back their home’… it just led to more bodies to throw on the pyre.

They had just come back from another failed attempt to retake wall Maria, and the number of dead had grown. That was what the list in front of him held, the names of the dead. It wasn’t something he liked to look at, not because he was heartless but because it was harder not to feel pain when you knew their names.

The number of solders that had died was too many to count, and every time that was exactly what he was forced to do.

He sighed. He needed some air, a walk to clear his head before he buried himself in the task. Pushing himself away from his desk he stood up. He was still in his uniform so it saved him the bother of getting redressed. He left his office, locking the door behind him and climbing up one of the stairways, stepping onto a balcony. Their main base of operations was one of the more furbished castles; it had many places like this.

He took a breath of the freezing air, feeling the chill work its way into his lungs. It was refreshing in its own way. Levi looked up, he wasn’t all that too interested in stars but they always seemed to give off a certain feeling: a feeling of peace. Of quiet indifference. Sometimes he wished he could be like that.

Sometimes… he wished he could be left alone.

“What are you doing up this late Nanaba?” he asked without turning around, sure enough a woman joined him at leaning against the balcony edge, just looking off in the distance.

“Not much really,” she said casually. “I was feeling restless, thought I could probably do with a walk you know? Tire myself out.”

The Corporal rolled his eyes. “You think a little walk around the base is gonna do that to you? Fuckin’ seriously?” the idea was stupid at best; Nanaba was easily one of the best soldiers in the legion. Her physical abilities, skill, experience and cool headedness made her a force to be reckoned with, she was easily better than anyone in his own squad bar himself. She was a trusted companion and a long-time friend in the scale of how long people lasted in this branch, which was one of the only reasons she got off with being so casual to her superior.

She raised an eyebrow and looked down at him with one eye. “No need to be so hostile sir… I haven’t done anything wrong have I?” the question was an easy one, but she probably meant it rhetorically.

Levi blew air out his mouth, watching it fog in the air. “Well for starters you’re lying to me. You know I don’t take that kind of shut around her. What’s the real reason you’re up?”

Her easy smile slipped from her face, and she was quiet for a moment. “Did you read the list of dead?” she whispered, her voice almost impossible to hear.

But he did.

“Yes.” Was his one word answer, he had a sinking feeling he knew exactly where this was going.

She nodded, mostly to herself. “I had… I had friends on that list, guys I remember drinking with just a few days ago… it just hit me today how crap it makes me feel.” He didn’t say anything, there wasn’t anything her _could_ say so eventually she asked him a question in a voice that was hoarse with an emotion he knew all too well. Desperation. “Why do we do this? Why do we bother to fight?” it was a desperation to know what all the loss was for, what it was worth.

He sighed, his own tone sombre. “Because nobody else is stupid enough to do it.”

She barked out something, Levi couldn’t tell if it was a sob or a laugh. “Stupid? I would have though you’d go with something like brave… not… that.”

The smallest of movements should he had shrugged. “I don’t see the point. If we were beating the Titans, even with massive losses it might show that it was worth it, that all the people I watched die were brave… but the fact is we haven’t and we’re not. We’re losing the war and we don’t have a single thing to show us that their deaths have meaning.”

Nanaba swallowed. “Then why bother?”

Levi paused for a second, thinking up the right way to say it. “Because as stupid as it sounds nobody else will. Because I’d rather die outside the walls fighting for the freedom of mankind, and making the deaths of all those soldiers mean something than die in these walls snivelling and cowering like cattle waiting to be slaughtered. Hell, at least this way when I eventually do go down I’ll take a few of the bastards with me.”

She laughed at that, a genuine one. “Yeah… I guess that’s as good a reason as any.”

There was a minute more where they both simply stood there, enjoying the peace before Levi sighed. “Get some sleep Nanaba. God knows we all need it.”

She nodded, turning to the Corporal and slamming her fist on her heart in a grateful salute before turning and leaving him alone once again.

Levi watched her go and took one more look at the sky, the moon almost at its peak. He might as well get that paperwork done. It wasn’t going to disappear overnight…

* * *

 

* * *

 

“Oi! Shorty!”

Levi sighed. The night had passed and he’d finally finished the paperwork. Unfortunate it meant he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep and he was in no mood to deal with a certain someone.

Hange Zoe. The most infuriating woman he’d ever met. She was the leader of her own squad, and just over a year ago had been able to convince the commander to approve the capture of titans. She’d gotten even bubblier ever since and it her constant jabs at him more frequent.

Not that he didn’t have a few words of his own in return.

“What do you want four-eyes? I’m busy.”

She laughed. “Eating?”

She… had him there, although the slop here was nothing to be pleased about it was at least something to eat, he hadn’t had anything since yesterday. No time for that.

“Yes, eating and I don’t need your dirty ass ruining my appetite.”

She smiled undisturbed by his insult. “Well you better hurry up, The commander’s looking for us. He called a meeting for us all in his office in tem minutes.”

Levi scowled. What did the man want at this time of day? Most of the soldiers were still recovering from the expedition, surely it could wait. He said as much to Hange and she shrugged.

“Who knows?” she said. “But it sounded like he had something serious on his mind.”

The Corporal let out a grunt and stood, not bothering to finish eating. It tasted like shit anyway. As he walked down the halls of their base towards Erwin’s office Hange fell in line beside him, already going off about the differences between abnormal and regular titans. Stuff that didn’t really interest Levi. He only needed to know how to kill them.

When they got to the right office Hange gave a cheerful knock on the door and a voice signalled for them to come in. Erwin was sitting at his desk with a hard look in his face, and at his side Mike stood was a calm demeanour.

Mike was an accomplished soldier of the Corps; a squad leader and only second to Levi’s supposed skill.  The fact that he had been called too spoke volumes about how serious this was, and it forced Levi to stifle any remarks he had about the meeting. All the same he sat down. “Why’d you call us all here Erwin?” it couldn’t be that bad. They weren’t calling for a full scale alert or anything.

The Commander looked at them all with steely eyes. In his hands was a notice of some kind. He placed it on the desk and slid it over to them without the word. Levi gave him a confused look before caving and looking at the paper, beside him Hange gasped, and it took only a moment later for his own stomach to drop.

“Are… is this fucking real?” he gasped out. “Are the higher-ups fucking insane?” there was a troubled look from mike, and Hange’s eyes had glazed over. He could practically see the wheels in her head turn as she calculated the massive loss of life.

Erwin regarded them carefully. “The operation to retake Wall Maria will begin in six days from now, it will largely be made up of refugees from the fall. We know it is a suicide mission. Our own experience with Titans can confirm this.”

“Then why is the government endorsing something so ridiculous?” Hange growled, mainly to herself.

Erwin either didn’t pick up on it or choose to ignore it in favour of answering her question. “They have admitted that the massive loss of life will help to ease the pressure of food shortages for the other inhabitants.”

The logic made sense. The amount people had to eat was scares, relying mostly on food stored away in case of emergencies like famine or other natural disasters… but it was running out. The sheer number of people forced from their homes was more than could ever have been anticipated. In order to allow Humanity to survive they would have to sacrifice those who came to them in need. It was calculated, thought out… and overwhelmingly cruel.

Mike frowned. “This is the result of perhaps our greatest lost in over a century… what are supposed to do now?”

Erwin shook his head. “We can’t do anything. The reality is that it is too late for us to do anything. We don’t have the resources for a quick expedition. The only option is to prepare for the next one. We need to retake Wall Maria as fast as possible lest we lose more than we have already.”

The meeting came to an end a few minutes later since no one had anything else on their mind. They wouldn’t have been able to say anything after that. Even Hange restrained herself from prattling on about capturing titans for the remained of the time and when she strode beside Levi her face was grim.

She sighed. “This was probably the worst possible news we could have gotten, and at a time like this it only makes it worse.

Levi growled. “Of course this was the idea of some group of nobles who have no idea what the rest of the people are suffering through. What kind of sick idea is that anyway? To accept the refugees who just lost their entire lives and families to titans, only to be sent back out there to fight them. Hell, some scouts resign after their first time seeing a titan. What fucking chance do these people have?”

“None.” Hange murmured, her voice tinged with despair. “That isn’t the idea of this mission… they don’t stand a chance.”

* * *

 

* * *

Armin’s breath came out in frantic gasps as he ran. His body begged for him to stop but his mind screamed for him to keep moving over the rough terrain of the ruined town.

The ground beneath him quaked. But it was not from any natural tremors, it was from the steps of the massive creature behind them. The Titan was well over ten meters tall, approaching them at a steady pace despite its casual walking image. The girl behind him groaned as he held her wrist; trying his hardest to drag her along.

Mikasa had injured her leg, the red liquid dripping down her right leg. It was what had attracted the Titan. If she was in proper shape they might have been able to out manoeuvre it. Even if they were only ten years of age the rubble gave them a certain advantage in weaving in and out of building. They couldn’t do that though. Not with Mikasa barely able to keep even their meagre pace, the heavy gasps of pain and the desperation not to trip over her own dress was telling that they would never achieve a great enough distance to be free.

A treacherous, callous part of Armin’s mind told him that if he abandoned his friend she would be enough of a distraction for him to slip away.

He crushed that thought, focusing on keeping her close as they ran.

“Ar…armin… p-please, I can’t…” Mikasa desperately gasped out. He couldn’t blame her. They’d been running for what seemed like hours. For days their bodies hadn’t had any proper rest and by now the adrenaline in them was wearing off.

“Come on, we just need to go a little further Mikasa, just a little and we’ll be fine.” It sounded false even to his own ears and hysteria seeped into his mind as a terrifying roar was heard behind him. It wasn’t the current titan chasing them. Armin whimpered, it meant more were getting close.

Suddenly he was dragged down as Mikasa’s legs gave out. She cried out in pain as both of them went scrambling.  She didn’t try to stand up, he called out her name but there was no response. The Titan was almost upon them now, barely a hundred feet away. In a last ditch effort Armin tried to carry the unconscious girl to one of the lesser damaged buildings in the two. It still had its roof and walls intact even if the door and a few windows had been blown open.

The blond wasn’t strong enough however; he just didn’t have the physical strength and was forced to drag her body along the ground instead. With barely a second to spare they made it to the house and he cradled his friend under a table.

The footsteps were louder now and he could hear the noises of the titan as it growled. Armin slapped a hand over his mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle the sound of his own breathing.

It stopped.

There was silence. The world around them seemed to freeze as the quaking of footfalls came to a halt. Had they escaped? Had the titan given up on them and just forgot about the vulnerable prey less than ten feet in front of it?

That idea was shattered as a gigantic hand burst through the ceiling above them. With the still unconscious Mikasa in his arms he could not move, that or the sheer terror prevented him from such action.

He screamed. Screamed in panic as it descended on them, whether he would be crushed by its grip or thrown into its mouth to be ground up to bloody chunks was a sickening thought that pushed its way to the front of his mind.

And then it was gone.

Armin barely registered that the Titan had been ripped off its feet and sent crashing to the ground. He barely noticed the way the earth shook and how his bones rattled as a shriller more terrifying roar could be heard outside.

That was until he saw it. Something that would shatter every truth he knew about titans.

A second one had arrived on the scene, but instead of joining the other titan in devouring them it… attacked the thing!

Armin could only look on with disbelief as the new titan; a fifteen metre giant with muscles rippling under its skin unlike anything else he’d seen. It let out another roar and the blond was forced to cover his ears at the noise.

It was animalistic. No, there was no creature in the world that could make that sound. It was something that struck a primal feeling that Armin didn’t know he had. With a mighty swing it bashed its fist into the side of the smaller titans head, separating it from its shoulders in one clean movement; then before the body could fall the bigger on grabbed its shoulders.

Armin got to appreciate its face in that moment: it had wild brown hair that came down past its neck, pointed ears pushing past and glowing green eyes. But what held his attention were the teeth. It had a lipless mouth and a separated teeth formation. It was a truly horrific face.

Then the teeth clamped down on the other titans nape, blood squirting as it was ripped out and the smaller one finally slumped.

Armin choked back a gasp. It knew where the weak spot was! It has intelligence!

It was an altogether different kind of choke as the same titan turned its attention to them. Armin almost had a heart attack as those blazing green orbs bore into him. Instinctively he held Mikasa tighter, whether out of a want to defend her or his own fear he didn’t know in that moment.

There was nothing he could do if the titan decided to eat them. There was no longer a rood, nor a wall between them. They were boxed in on the other three sides and to be honest Armin wasn’t even sure he had enough strength to stand.

The giant leaned in. its face just a few feet away now. Armin could feel its hot breath and the smell of blood than made him feel sick. But it did not move closer, watching them, inspecting them.

Then with a huff of steam it moved away. It did not stand up however. In its kneeling form it turned its head, first left, then right. Looking to see if any other titans were coming their way. Armin could not tell from his height so close to the ground but the answer must have satisfied the beast and it dipped its head.

Armin blinked. What was it doing?

Suddenly there was a burst of steam from its nape, and flesh opened up for a figure to appear. It dropped to the ground with a plop and behind it the Titan began to disintegrate.

“Alright,” came a voice from the body Armin could now distinguish as a human male, probably only a few years older than them. “I think it’s time to get out of here kids.”  

* * *

 


	2. A little bit of an introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin has no clue whats going on, but he's determined to get to the bottom of it and this stranger seems fine answering their question.  
> Meanwhile the execution to retake Wall Maria begins, and the true bloodbath begins in earnest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, back with the second chapter and we get so see a little bit of Eren noe, as well as some scary Titan facts. Before we get into it though i'd like to thank San Rodrigo for giving me ideas for this story, a few that I'll definitely be using. He seems very enthusiastic about this story as an ideas and I hope the rest of you can be too.

 

Armin stared silently into the fire, contemplating what he had seen a few hours ago.

A titan had saved his life, and Mikasa’s before a human burst from its nape and decided to take them with him without so much as an explanation. He’d been too tired to resist, in fact he’d fallen unconscious as soon as the other boy had picked him up. His body was suddenly dead weight in a strangers arms.

When he’d eventually woken up his face had been washed and he was laid out beside a campfire. Now, on the other side of said fire the strange boy sat attending Mikasa’s wounded leg. The girl was only waking up now, and she still moved lethargically; but the paleness in her face was gone so it looked like she’d be alright.

So there Armin sat, working up the courage to speak. Instead he studied the boy: he had the same shade of hair that the titan had, although it was slightly shorted. The same could be said for the colour of his eyes. They were intense; Armin could see that even from the side view he had. There was another thing however that the blond noticed: there were strange markings at the side of the boys eyes, they branched out and faded the farther away they got but they were still plenty noticeable.

Were they burns? Scars of some kind? Armin couldn’t be sure, but they gave him a striking look.

He shook his head. No way he was going to find out by just staring at them. Moving on to the rest of the boy’s body told a similar story. He defiantly had a build; lean and muscular despite looking no older than perhaps fourteen. He was taller than them though, so it didn’t look disproportionate or anything, not even noticeable under his clothes.

And what strange clothing it was. It wasn’t… unusual per say, but it defiantly wasn’t from the right time period, instead looking like something from twenty years ago. A plain green tunic and brown pants with intricate designs around the edges, he didn’t wear shoes. It also looked just a few sizes too big for him if that made sense. Although for some reason Armin had a hard time believing they _weren’t_ his.

“You know,” came the boys’ voice. “I can normally tell when someone’s staring at me, especially if they’re not doing a great job at hiding it.” Those emerald orbs were suddenly focused on him and Armin gulped, looking away, instead his gaze dropped on to the girl in his care, who was now ever-so-slowly sitting up.

The confusion on her face said what she thought of the scene in front of her

The boy shrugged to himself and left her sit up. Mikasa winced slightly as she felt the stinging sensation in her leg but apart from that there didn’t seem to any problems with it anymore in terms of being able to use it. It was bandaged securely enough that she didn’t need to worry about it opening again.

She looked at him. “T-thank you.” She whispered hesitantly.

Another shrug. “Don’t worry about. Make sure not to put too much weight on it and rest when you can. That should help with the recovery.”

The girl nodded but didn’t say anything else and after an awkward moment of silence she mimicked Armin, string into the fire.

The night wasn’t quiet. The sound of animal night life could be heard all around them: owls calling out, wolves howling in the night and the smaller animals scurrying of the outskirts of the flames light… and then there was the tiniest of shakes that signalled the movement of titans that hadn’t lost all their energy yet.

It reminded the two children of just where they were.

The stranger looked at them. “Well?” he said obviously suspecting what was to come. “Are you just going to sit there like that for the rest of the night?”

Armin blinked for a moment before sitting up a little straighter. “I-I have questions… if you’d answer them.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow in amusement, he’d know they were going to ask it seemed, Armin didn’t know how that sat with him. “Alright then,” he raised one hand and held up three fingers. “This is how many questions you get to ask. I won’t lie to you… but I’m not going to waste time with long answers if I don’t need too, so think about it.”

Armin nodded, thinking carefully. The boy had introduced himself when they first met shortly. What was his name again?

“You’re name is… Eren right?”

The boys grin turned predatory. “Yes,” was the straight forward answer. “One question down.” Armin gaped. Mikasa shot up.

“You’re going to count _that_ as a question?”

“Yep, second question down.” Her teeth clamped shut with a loud click after that and her eyes sought Armin’s worriedly. This… Eren, was playing them. They had to think of something relevant to ask him, something he wouldn’t be able to answer with one word.

“Why did you save us?”

The brunette blinked before laughing to himself. “What? Not a ‘what are you?’ or ‘where did you come from’? You want to know _why_ I did it?”

He nodded and gave a determined stare. “Yes… the way I look at is that it’s not something you can just shrug off, you’ll be forced to elaborate.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Alright then. I did it as a favour to Grisha, because he asked me to keep you two safe.”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. “You knew Doctor Yeager? Is he alright?”

“To answer your first question since you two don’t seem to know how to count to three; yeah, I knew him. You could say we have a… long history together. Something like- twenty odd years ago when he was just a little older than you. He was… part of my Tribe.”

The look of confusion on their face was enough for him to elaborate. “It’s like a group that saw me as its leader; all lawful or familial affairs were managed through my consent. Grisha was a member of that tribe a few years back. Eventually though through a series of events at aren’t related he ended up inside the walls, and well… got married apparently. I… don’t know where he ran off to since the last time I saw him.”

“When was that?” Armin asked.

“A few weeks ago; we found each other by some chance and he begged me to find and protect you. Don’t look at me like that I didn’t ask him to! Anyway, I agreed of course. Grisha was desperate, or at least it felt that way. I’ve been looking for you ever since then.” He shrugged slightly, as if calling back to an earlier memory. “I thought you might have made it to wall Rose, or if you were unlucky enough eaten.”

Mikasa nodded, she’d thought they were going to be eaten too, but how they had been saved by this boy she didn’t know yet. Armin seemed to though by the way he spoke.

“So,” Eren began. “I’m curious and wasn’t clued in, what exactly happened? I mean, when the wall fell. I only showed up to see both of the gates broken down. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see the inside of this place.”

Armin sighed, ready to recount the horrible tale that would no doubt be uttered by anyone who had inhabited Shiganshina.

“We don’t really know, it all happened so fast, there was a huge explosion and suddenly there was a blast of wind that knocked us off our feet. We heard people yelling about how a titan broke down the gate. A… a lot of thing happened before we were carried out to a boat to be transported to safety. But we never made it on when another titan broke down the second gate, it was covered in bronze armour and-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Eren interrupted. “Did you say armour? As in the armoured titan?”

“Y-yes?” Armin answered hesitantly.

Eren shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve gotta have it wrong, there’s no way Reiner would do something like that.”

Armin and Mikasa froze, staring at him with wide eyes.

“W…what?” Armin croaked out.

“The only armoured Titan is Reiner,” Eren said matter-of-factly, his face showing that he believed what he said with complete conviction. “He’s too much of a stand-up guy to do something like that, I should know; he’s one of my best friends.”

**_“What?”_ **

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

This was a shit show. This whole fucking thing was one big wreck.

What the hell had she been thinking? No seriously, what the actually fuck did she think was going to happen on this mission.

Nanaba wasn’t arrogant; you couldn’t be when you were a scout. It was pummelled out of you quicker than you’d think, bit she knew she had better choices than this one.

Why the fuck had she went on the incursion?

No, it was too late to bitch about it now. Now she was stuck in this crowd, surrounded on all sides by people who didn’t know what the _fuck_ they were doing!

_That’s it Nanaba, complain about it in your own head. You’re too much of a coward to say it out loud. Why are you even here eh? Some kind of way to coping with the loss of your friends? You end up signing up for a suicide mission?_

No, that wasn’t it. She just… needed to… she needed-

_Yeah you know exactly what you fuckin’ need. You needed to feel like you were doing something worthwhile instead of dying as an unappreciated soldier. That’s it isn’t it? You know it’s true. If you die here they’ll feel sorry for you, maybe mourn about the loss of life and praise you for your bravery. If you died on an expedition they’d spit on your corpse instead. That’s what this is about, you haven’t even thought about making out of this alive you fucking coward._

Nanaba scowled at herself, pushing that little voice to the back of her head. She didn’t need this, not here and not now. She could wallow in self-loathing after. When she was no longer in titan territory.

Heh… that was funny actually. Just a over a month ago this place was owned by farmers, this land specifically; wide open fields of green with trees dotting the landscape sparsely.

Now it was owned by their greatest enemy.

She shook her head, dispelling the thought. They’d retrieve it, eventually. Would she still be alive to see it? Maybe.

Nanaba looked around her, as if to take in the sight of so many people. It was a lot, more than any expedition had harboured. There were two hundred and fifty thousand people in total, but that number was too big for one formation, especially when so many were unused to their superiors commands. So instead they were broken into groups of just one thousand. It was still over three times the number she was used to. Normally when the scouts ventured outside the walls they were just three hundred strong.

If they had this many trained scouts would they have reclaimed land already?

Who knew.

Right now wasn’t the time to think about it though; it was getting dark so there was no need to worry about titans. The sun was just setting on the horizon. There were no clouds in the sky… it was warm, not like, in an uncomfortable sense but just enough that any extra layers of clothing couldn’t be needed.

She sighed and lightly tapped the side of her horse, moving to the front of the group. Their leader wasn’t a military type; he was an average height with brown hair and a bushy beard of the same colour. He was a hunter (His name was Marcus if she was remembering right), a tracker that used to live around this area of Wall Maria, so they had elected for him to lead them past the winding trails and canyons.

“See anything?” she asked him politely, not letting her own nervousness leak into her voice.

He shook his head. “Nothin’ yet, it’s clear enough to see the landscape but I can’t see or hear any sign of titans.”

Nanaba frowned. “That doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

The man blinked, turning to look at the solder with confusion clearly masking his features. “Why not? I mean if we can see a titan from this far away we should be able to avoid it right? We’d at least hear it coming.”

She paused, wondering if she could share information like this… yes, they were in this together, no point it hiding it. She sighed. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you; most of the stuff that the public is told about titans, you know: that their slow, load and stupid id complete bull, lies. Something to give the populace a little bit of hope. Titans are much more dangerous than we let on.”

The tracker looked nervous, visible upset with the fact that he didn’t know everything about the beasts that could surround them. “So…” he began slowly. “What’s actually true about them?”

Nanaba thought for a moment, trying to remember the words of some of Hange’s crazed ramblings. “Well for starters they’re not slow. They might look it because of their size but it’s just some kind of trick our minds play on us. They’re fast; even the normal ones are faster than your regular guy. An athletic person might be able to outpace them but that’s about it. Then there’s the abnormals.” Her nose wrinkled up in disgust at the thought of them. “Those things are a whole other level of terrifying. They might not be able to talk, or it might be because they don’t feel like communicating with their food, but they’re dangerously smart. I’ve seen them lie in wait, watching solders pass and picking out the ones that look the weakest. And they can defiantly understand each other. They don’t roar unless either two things happen: they’re trying to threaten us, or call others nearby.”

Marcus gaped at her. “But… how can you tell? How do you know that?”

“One of our squad leaders has a bit of an obsession with learning everything they can about Titans. One time we were told not to engage the beasts and instead sneak up on them and record behavioural patterns: When they talk to each other it’s like some kind of clicking sound, like a noise at that back of their throats. It was only when one of them saw us by accident that it roared and suddenly half a dozen of them came out of the woodwork.”

“You said they roar when they want to threaten us too though. Why would they do that?”

“That’s what I’m getting to,” Nanaba said with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “They’re smart. At least smart enough to know that even with our size its dangerous to fight us if outnumbered heavily enough. They’ll still eat us if we get too close but they at least have some base level of predator intelligence.”

He nodded in understanding. It was a common thing to witness when hunting game. A single wolf might attack a lone man and eat him, but if there were more than a few the animal would be cautious. They could even tell if the people had weapons that made them more dangerous and sometimes would leave them be.  

“There’s another thing you should know,” Nanaba continued. “Titans… like to play with their food.”

“Huh?”

“As in they usually won’t kill them outright. The younger ones might, because all that’s in their heads is devouring things. Eventually as they become more experienced their test of weaknesses in their prey: There’s written reports of how they’ll break a humans legs to see if it’s fast enough to run away, or press their weight on a body to see what it takes to squash them… and it does all this while they’re still alive.”

The hunter looked pale at the thought, very pale. He shook himself to get rid of the image no doubt building in his head.

The horses neighed quietly and Nanaba reached down to give her own a reassuring pat. There was a nervousness in the air now, it was clear that other people close by had heard what she’d said.

“We need to keep a careful look out. Like I said Titans are smart, but the younger ones don’t have the same wariness of an older Titan. If they get hungry they might charge us, even if there are some many people here. My worry is that they are experienced enough to sneak up on us. They don’t need to breath… and their footsteps could be masked by our own group moving.”

She didn’t say anything after that.  There was no need to. People were on higher alert now though, even if it was through fear so that was a good thing. The only question was if they would be unlucky enough to encounter one. She glared up at the full moon. While normal Titans wouldn’t be a threat with no sunlight abnormals were a different story; sometimes they’d sleep while other times it would be as if the sun was still high in the sky.

Every now and then the horses would neigh and whinny, setting Nanaba on edge. They might not be trained battle horses but they knew when danger was close all the same.

Hours past with no change, their slow, steady pace… unchanging. Clouds had begun to fill the sky. Eventually they covered the moon, plunging them into darkness.

 Nanaba scowled darkly at the change. She turned back to someone else in the group, barely able to make out their face.

“Can you pass me a torch? We can’t see anything up here.”

There was a grunt and the sound of movement as someone reached for something and then a long piece of wood was handed to her. She grunted out her own thanks and turned in her saddle, pulling out a match.

She moved up to the front of the group, beside Marcus and scraped the match along the flammable stick.

Nothing.

She did it again, looking down at her hands as she struck it faster this time.

A spark, then nothing. It torch refused to light.

Her scowl became more intense. She struck it harder, faster than before and breathed a sigh when it finally worked. She held it up past her head to give herself better vision.

And came face to face with a titan.

What happened next was a blur. Where was she? What had just happened?

Nanaba looked around as her perception of time seemed to slow. There was screaming, all around her as bodies were flung into the air by at Titan. It was a crawler, standing up it could be anywhere from eleven to fourteen meters tall. Its sick grin and pale, dead white eyes were already covered in human blood.

There were legs in its mouth… what? Oh… wait, that was a person, they’d just been bitten in half was all.

Getting up off the bloodied ground slowly Nanaba realised her horse was gone, no; its corpse was beside her, unmoving. Where was everyone?

Wait; there was Marcus, near the Crawler. He looked at her, seeing her dazed face. He reached out to her and creamed.

Before he was crushed by the Crawlers hand. What came away was bloodied paste and bones.

That snapped her out of it.

Suddenly Nanaba sprang to her feet, breathing heavily in panic.

Crap.

 She looked down to see her manoeuver gear destroyed, it was nothing but scrap metal hanging on her hips. Already the formation had shattered, people running in every direction in frantic panic.

There was nothing but open plains surrounding them, nowhere to hide.

The Titan roared.

And Nanaba ran.

It was over. The beast had called more of its kind and they were no doubt already racing towards them.

Nanaba ran, sprinting past others and ignoring their cries for help in her own desperate attempt to flee. She unbuckled the straps of her gear, only a split second wasted to unhook one of the swords from its wires.

Once again her vision blurred, everything around her had disappeared as she ran. She doubted she’d even see a Titan in the dark, he torch abandoned in the panic. The screams could still be heard as she made enough distance to lose sight of the Titan, but even more had just arrived, devouring those who called out for help first.

She ran until her legs ached, her lungs crying out for her to stop. She couldn’t not until-

There!

To her right was a rock formation, nothing huge, the entrance just maybe three of four meters high, too big for the crawler or any of its friends to get in, but it was also high enough off the ground that any that _could_ in wouldn’t be able to reach it.

She climbed up, her skin scraping the jagged stone in an attempt to find openings. With a heave she pushed herself up and into the cave, gasping out in pain as her lungs taking in so much air it hurt.

She lay there for a few minutes just breathing.

Eventually she moved though. There was no point staying out where Titans might see her, they could still grab her.

Nanaba looked out, trying to see something, anything. But she was met with a wall of black.

With a sigh she stood, her muscles still aching as she made her way deeper into the hollow rock face.

It must have been a tunnel of some kind; as wind lightly breezed past her face.

She still couldn’t see anything. That needed to change. As she kept moving she pulled of her cape, then her jacket. She wasn’t going to burn the green hood, for a number of reasons, but the tan coloured clothing could go.

She bundled it into a ball and stabbed it with her sword, testing to see if it would work as a make-shift torch. When she was satisfied she reached of another match she had stuffed away in her pocket.

A single strike was all it took this time for the flames to start and she peered into the cave.

She half expected to come face to face with a titan right then and there, considering her luck.

Down the winding tunnel she went, climbing steadily over pointed rocks. She kept the torch up high, determined to hold onto this one for a little while longer.

The wind was getting stronger now and its echoes along the cave ceiling had gotten louder. She turned the corner and-

Don’t.

Fucking.

Move.

_Don’tmovedon’tmovedon’tmove._

Just inches away from her face was the face of a sleeping Titan, its breaths coming out in slow heaves. A tiny part of her mind whispered that it was strange considering Titans didn’t need to breath.

Its eyes were closed.

She took a step back.

Her footsteps echoed in the silence at the same time her torch decided to shoot out a loud spark.

Its eyes snapped open. They were unlike anything she’d ever seen. Where there should have been whites there was pure black, and its pupil were tiny pinprick of light. They zeroed in on her and the breathing stopped.

Neither moved.

Neither breathed.

The Titan opened its mouth, and Nanaba’s stomach churned as she saw two rows of teeth sharper than her blade.

It smiled menacingly.

And blew out the light.

* * *

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oohhh spooky!
> 
> So... what did you think? Good? Bad?  
> Whatever your thoughts make sure to comment them below. Also be sure to point out any mistakes I make and remember if you want you can also give predictions each chapter on what you think's going to happen. I always like hearing other peoples idea.  
> I hope you can help me improve as well.  
> I hope you enjoyed and decide to stick around for the next one.


	3. What did you see?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa and Armin a just learning how to survive outside the Protection of the walls with Eren.
> 
> Meanwhile the Survey Corps makes a new discovery that could change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I'd just like to apologize for how late this one came out, I was out of the country and had no internet. it was a little bit of a drag because i didn't bring my laptop either.
> 
> I just got back a few days ago and was able to finish this.  
> That being said I hope this chapter is a good one and that you enjoy it.

The day was bright, the forest filled with the chattering of animals from high above. The leaves rustled in the wind gently and rays of sun leaked through, illuminating the ground.

This forest had a name; it was perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of land within Wall Maria: the forest of Giant Trees.

After the Titans took the land from Humanity there was a rise in wildlife, more animals had flocked to this forest, the benefits of the forest clear to even the simplest of creatures.

Which ironically made it one of the best places _to_ hunt.

There was a tiny movement in the bushes. An animal stepped out, aware of nothing but its seemingly peaceful surroundings. It didn’t notice the sound of a human breathing slowly, or the shift in their step.

They didn’t notice the sound of metal cutting through the air until a knife was buried in its neck.

The doe collapse like a puppet without its strings.

Mikasa let out a sigh of relief at the sight. Good, they could eat well tonight. Standing up from her hiding spot she went to retrieve the knife she had thrown. Gripping its hilt with one hand, she pulled out a leather bag, getting the work at meticulously carving away at its bones, making sure to harvest the eatable meat.

The crunch of leaves behind her was heard but not acknowledged, she knew who it was before they spoke.

“A good kill,” Eren praised. “You’ve gotten better over the week. It’s almost like you’re a natural.”

Mikasa nodded, quietly thankful for his praise. When she was done a few minutes later she wiped her knife clean of blood and hoisted the bag over her shoulder. She looked over to Eren.

“Are you ready to get going?” he asked, already knowing the answer of course but asking out of curtesy.

“Ready.” Was her only reply.

With that he turned, walking back in the direction he came. The hurried footsteps told him that Mikasa was following even before she caught up to walk beside him. They stayed quiet, focusing on the sound of the wildlife and enjoying the peace. Every so often the younger girl would look up at the older boy (who was about a head taller than her) with a look he couldn’t place. It was like she was expecting him to yell at her for no reason but at the same time was also expecting him to smile down at her. It was a weird thing to describe.

Eventually they came to a particularly bug tree on the outskirts of the forest, facing the open plains to the north. They stopped at its base, looking left and right for Titans. When Eren was satisfied that there wasn’t any, he motion to Mikasa.

It was something she’d done a few times now so without hesitation she tightened her bag and wrapped her arms around Eren’s neck, in a piggybacking position. She tapped his thigh with her foot and he nodded.

He bent his knees and _leaped_ into the air. Obviously it wasn’t enough for him to reach even the lowest hanging branches but it game him a good start. As he collided with the trunk he dug his fingers into the bark, his bare feet also finding purchase below.

Steadily he began to climb, up and up past the branches. Ten metres, fifteen, twenty meters until they reached one of the thickest branches, far above what any Titan within the Walls could reach.

Armin looked up from his lap as the climbed on, and he nodded to them as Mikasa hopped off Eren’s back. His smile showed when the raven haired girl crouched beside him, showing him the food she’d collected.

Eren chose not to interrupt the moment, instead turning his gaze to the open fields. There was a single Titan just over two hundred meters away. It saw them, but ignored their presence almost entirely. The boy didn’t doubt that if the fell to ground level it would hunt them relentlessly.

“So,” he said to Armin once they’d finished talking. “What did you see?”

“Oh! Um,” the smaller boy perked up, fishing out a hand-sized journal. “There were four Titan spotting’s since you went hunting an hour ago: three regular Titans and one Abnormal. They appeared individually and didn’t do much aside from wander around before disappearing. They didn’t seem to be going anywhere in particular since two went east; one went north and the other south.”

Eren hummed that he heard before sitting down on the bark. “Good job, looks like you’re taking the whole ‘Titan watching’ idea seriously.”

Armin nodded. It had been his own idea, so of course he was going to see it through. They’d been traveling with the Titan boy for just around two weeks. They didn’t have any particular direction in mind, not just yet anyway; Eren had told them he wanted to get a lay of the land before deciding on a location to _set up_. Along the way Armin had suggested that they kept a catalogue of Titan sightings, so they knew where they should or shouldn’t travel. Eren had thought it was a great idea and after they found some supplies in a ruined village the blond had started right away.

While he did that, Eren had decided it was time he tried to give some ‘hunting lessons’ to Mikasa. The incentive was a strong one: if she didn’t catch anything, they didn’t get to eat… well, not as dramatic as that. The times that Mikasa came back with nothing Eren would catch something smaller. Enough to keep them healthy and alive but it wasn’t enough for a full stomach, and could lead to hunger pains. In that way it defiantly encouraged Mikasa to do better, and with every time that’s exactly what she did. It may have only been two weeks but the trio had a sort of loose routine between them: with Armin mapping the best paths for them, Mikasa providing the meals and Eren focusing on protecting them from other Titans.

Other Titans.

The thought made Armin frown slightly. It was what Eren had called them, and when the blond had said to the older boy that he looked more human that Titan he had shook his head and said:

_‘No, I’m defiantly a Titan, no question about that.’_

They had left the conversation at that, and it always ended with that line, despite the numerous times Armin had brought it up. Eren didn’t seem annoyed by it though.

When the younger boy had asked him what he was then Eren had shrugged and said he was simply a variation of Titan, separate from them in ways but not human no matter what it looked like.

It frustrated him to know end, but when Armin realised he wouldn’t get any more information from that particular avenue he decided to leave it be.

Enough of that though. Right now Mikasa had handed over the meat to Eren, Armin set his book down as he once again watched the act with curiosity.

First, Eren took out a steel bottle and poured water over his hands, (Keeping his hands clean of course) then he held the red meat in his hands and closed his eyes. Slowly, Armin and Mikasa watched as stim rose from the now cooking meat.

The same marks from before appeared around Eren’s eyes and light red lines branched along his forearms. They could feel the heat from where they sat, it was like an oven. Still it went on and eventually the venison began to change colour; bit by bit becoming brown.

Eren didn’t seem to be bothered by the heat, despite how sweat appeared on their own brows.

Then it was done. Eren took out a knife and evenly divided the slices of food between them. Gratefully they took it, and tore into it with ferocity. that particular skill was something they'd seen a few times now and Eren had assured them that it was nothing unique.

Armin could once again not help but admire just how good the food tasted now, whatever Eren had done to it seemed to bring out quite a lot of flavour. He ate his own at a similar pace to them but it didn't seem like he really needed it at all. He waited patiently for both of them to finish.

He stood up and looked down at them. “You two ready to go?”

They gave grunts in response, which he took as a yes.

The Titan boy leaped down to one of the lower branches and, slowly, drew the blade across his hand. The blood pooled in his palm. Then, more than should be allowed for such a small wound began to flow. More and more until it wrapped around his arm; his chest, neck, waist and legs. It got thicker and thicker, steam rising from it.

Eren took another step forward, off the edge.

Faster now as he fell, the flesh around him began to form, expanding outward. Along with it came the whites of bones; a ribcage, a skull and everything else soon afterwards.

What landed was a giant, skinless humanoid in a kneeling position. Seconds later there was a bigger burst of steam from its form as skin crawled along the muscle, wrapping itself around the flesh and teeth grew from its jaws. The messy brown hair was last.

And then its burning green eyes opened.

Slowly, the muscled goliath stood up, tall and proud.

It was the same form that had saved Armin and Mikasa.

Eren looked up at them, reaching a single hand up flat for them to stand on. With just a slight hesitation they jumped, landing safely in the palm of his hand. Everything they had with them was stored in backpacks they had hoisted on their backs.

Eren took off west, his pace slow and relaxed as the two children in his hand got to marvel at the view as they moved. The though made him huff out steam in amusement.

The first time he had transformed in front of Armin and Mikasa had been a sight to behold. While Armin had already seen him leave his Titan form Mikasa had been sceptical; like any sane person probably would have.

Well… her attitude changed rather fast after she saw it for the first time.

At least she hadn’t fainted, like some others had when he’d first shown it to them. She’d defiantly freaked out though. Jumping around and screaming profanities that shouldn’t have been known by ten year olds.

She’d called down eventually calmed down however.

Still, it was funny to think back to.

What was less funny had their reaction during their first real meeting.

 

_“WHAT!”_

_Both of them shot to their feet, staring at a confused Eren with wide eyes._

_“I said Reiner’s too much of a good guy to do something like that for no reason. look, from what I can tell the whole thing with the Wall falling was very… eventful. You’re probably just confused, ok? You’re imagining that you saw an armoured Titan.”_

_They shook their heads._

_“No, that’s not it at all!” Armin said feverously. “I know what I saw; it was a Titan with bronze skin harder than steel, the cannons didn’t nothing to it as it smashed down the inner gate!”_

_He sighed. “I’m telling you, you must be confused. Reiner’s my fried, if he did something like this I’m sure I would know.”_

_It was Mikasa who growled. “So you’re just going to ignore what we tell you? You’re seriously going to deny that your so call friend killed so many people?”_

_Eren regarded them levelly. “Alright… let’s say that Reiner; a great guy who’s always protecting people who need it, decided he had an urge to slaughter thousands of people… what of it? Why should I care?”_

_They froze but he didn’t let them speak._

_“The reality is that strangers are of no concern to me. My only priority within these walls is the two of you because Grisha asked for it. And because he was a part of my Tribe I intend to honour his wish…” another sigh. “If you really want to push this, then fine. You can say that the ‘Armoured Titan’ did what he did but until it becomes one of my actual concerns I’m not going to deal with it.”_

_“But –”_

_“Enough.” He growled. “Get some sleep. We’re moving at dawn.”_

 

A while later they came across a building. A warehouse of some kind that had been abandoned probably right after the fall. It was a military sore house judging by its outside décor: grey stone, plain and practical.

Eren stopped at its entrance and set his two passengers down before ripping himself out of his Titan form. He looked at it inquisitively.

“Do you to have any idea what in here?”

Armin shrugged. “I’m not sure… Mr Hannes always told us that these things were used for soldiers to resupply. It could have… rations maybe?”

“Well let’s go have a look!”

* * *

  

* * *

 

Levi’s pace was clipped, his posture stiff as he strode down the halls of the infirmary.

Normally he wouldn’t be caught dead showing even a hint of worry but he had a good reason this time.

The first group of the excursion had come back, with only eighteen survivors.

One of them was Nanaba.

They shouldn’t have come back so early, if they were able to come back at all but… with such a small number he already knew the reason why.

Commander Erwin and Hange were beside him, keeping the same pace. The Commanders face was stony and even four-eyes had a serious look on her.

They had heard about the survivors just yesterday and had immediately made their way to Trost.

Levi saw the door and the nurse beside it. he turned to them with a stern look as Erwin spoke.

“Good evening,” he said courteously but his voice still made the lady jump in surprise. “Is this the room of the scout?”

The woman looked down at her clipboard quickly before nodding. “Y-yes, but I don’t think this is the best time to see her. She seems… out of it to say the least. She _is_ conscious but we haven’t been able to get anything out of her. Maybe you should-”

Levi scowled. He didn’t have time for this! He pushed passed the nurse and opened the door, ignoring the woman’s startled voice or the polite apologise from his superior as they followed.

He saw Nanaba straight away: she was sitting upright on her bed, hands in her lap as she stared off into space with a haunted look. The shadows that masked her face did nothing for her eyes. Those blue orbs had defiantly seen something they shouldn’t have.

“Nanaba?” he called as he approached her. The woman didn’t answer, even as Erwin and Hange filed in behind him. They let him look over her, already knowing the trust they had for each other.

“Nanaba!” he called louder this time and the scout flinched before blinking and looking up at her superiors.

“S-sirs! I-I’m s-s-sorry I didn’t n-notice you come in.”

Levi scrunched up his eyebrows at the usually composed soldier, even as Hange looked on in worry. She reached for Nanaba’s hand and held it in her own. 

“Nanaba, what happened out there? You’re not hurt are you?”

She shook her head, giving a feeble smile. “N-no mam. Just a few bruises here and there. I-I’, fine, really.”

They didn’t look convinced.

Erwin sighed. “If you can soldier, perhaps it would be best if you recount what happened.”

“Ah… yes sir… but… t-the nurse… can she… can she leave?”

The blond blinked, but nodded, gesturing to the woman. The nurse hesitated for a moment, but it was clear she didn’t what to be there, with them, and so she left.

When she was gone Nanaba took a breath, perhaps to steady her nerves as she gripped the sheets until her knuckles turned white.

“Nanaba,” Hange said again, her voice gentle, but clear. “What happened to you?”

Slowly (with Hange making sure to write it down for later) Nanaba began to recount her tale; of the few moments of peace she had when they had journeyed out to reclaim the Wall. Of the ambush that had left her complete useless in the face of a Titan. How she had ran in her own words ‘ _like a coward’_ and how she took refuge in a cave and –

Nanaba stopped. She had covered her mouth with one hand in an attempt to stop herself throwing up.

They did not try to press her, letting the soldier have a moment to compose herself again.

It didn’t work.

“I got deep into the cave a-and I came face to face with another Titan. I thought I was screwed when it blew out my light. I should have been. Then in the dark it- oh god Hange, it,”

“It spoke.”

Silence.

“Nanaba,” Commander Erwin’s voice cut through like a knife. “Are you sure? What you’re saying… it’s unheard of.”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m sure, because it laughed at me, it called me a ‘terrified human’ that it could smell my fear.”

Hange was scribbling frankly now, the lead of her pencil wearing away fast as she wrote. It was Levi who was forced to continue the conversation.

“If you’re telling us this it’s obvious you killed it, or at least got away somehow.

The woman shook her head. “No, it… it let me go. I-it even told me how to get back safe and avoid the ‘dumb ones’… that’s what it called the other Titans.” She looked up at them now; all three were able to take in the fear in her eyes.

“It knew about the Walls sir, it knew I’d come from them and it knew about the I was human and  it was Titan and it just… let me go.”

“It let me go.”

After that, they hadn’t managed to get anything out of the soldier, so instead they had excused themselves, wishing Nanaba a speedy recovery and luck. Now, they walked the hall in a tense silence.

It was Levi who spoke up.

“So,” he drawled in a voice that gave away nothing. “What are we going to do about this? Commander?”

Erwin’s face was stony and his mind was no doubt running through everything Nanaba had told them. Eventually he sighed. “There’s not much we can do with this information at the moment, despite the fact that it could mean everything to us, about the secrets of the Titans, and an opportunity for our victory. Right now, we can only prepare. I’ll speak with Shadis, I heard that he’ll be taking on the next training corps a couple of years from now… it’s not much but we must prepare our recruits if this is what we face. Hange, you will be taking charge of the next expedition. I don’t think I need to say how badly we need to learn more. You, Levi will answer to her for that time. Understood?”

They nodded and the corporal gave a side way glance to Hange, who had said nothing since the reveal. When the commander bid them farewell for the moment and left the two of them he turned to her.

“What’s wrong with you four-eyes? Normally you’d be foaming at the mouths for stuff like this.”

She hesitated for a moment. Only a moment.

“This is different Levi. When it was confronting Titans with minimal intelligence it was a curiosity that needed solving. When we found how cruel they can be in their supposed mindlessness it was a goal now though… with the news that there could be Titans capable of matching our own intelligence? What does that mean for us Levi? It’s not a side project anymore, it’s a priority; one that we need to accomplish as soon as possible because if we don’t more people than ever are going to die.”

With that she walked past him, a determined walk as she left Levi alone in the hallway.

He watched her go.

“Yeah,” he said to himself. “I guess you’re right.”

* * *

 

* * *

 

A woman stepped away from the steaming carcase of a titan. Her clothing was ragged and worn, and yet covered every inch of her body; even a yellowish-brown scarf covered her lower face while goggles hide her eyes and helped to manage her messy chestnut hair.

Her eyes flashed behind them as she gazed at the massive gate, with the face of a woman carved into it and a crown atop her head.

_Rose_

Her golden eyes flashed behind her goggles.

“So,” she said in a silvery voice. “This is it then?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the story of My first works. All Attack on Titan Related Stories will first be posted here and then FanFiction.Net if you liked it.
> 
> I Have other stories there too so if you have the time feel free to stop by to it. I go by the same name.
> 
> Also, let me know if you find any spelling mistakes. I would say I'm at least moderately good at english writing (Not an expert by any stretch) but a few things tend to slip by in my proofreading. It's always appreciated.
> 
> If you want you can also give predictions each chapter on what you think's going to happen. I always like hearing other peoples idea.  
> I hope you can help me improve as well.
> 
> Anyway... That's all I've got right now.  
> I hope you stick around for the next one!


End file.
